SHEFFIELD: The English cueist Ronnie O’Sullivan defeated his countrymate, Judd Trump, 18-13 in the final of the World Snooker Championship to equal Stephen Hendry’s record of most championships triumphs, here on Monday.

In an eventful final between the two Englishmen, the veteran O’Sullivan emerged victorious as he defeated Trump by 18-13 in the Best of 35.

With his seven championship triumph, O’Sullivan has finally managed to level with his childhood hero Hendry, who won his seventh world title in 1999.

O’Sullivan, despite having a seven-frame overnight lead over Trump 12-5, found it hard to make it an easy win as the latter marked an exceptional comeback by winning six of the Monday afternoon’s eight frames and cut the gap to 14-11.

The veteran, however, did not panic and won three out of the next four frames to go within one frame. Following this, Trump glimmered with a ray of hope as he responded with an astonishing 151 points’ clearance.

The second-ranked cueist, however, remained unable to carry the momentum as O’Sullivan cleared the 31st frame by 93-0 to claim his career-defining victory.

In the final, Trump scored four centuries, while O’Sullivan five. The latter scored the best break of the match (120), which came in the second frame.

It is pertinent to mention here that O’Sullivan has now won 39 ranking titles, held nearly every major record in the game, and will now end the season as the top-ranked player in the world.

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